[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 246: Inner Loneliness

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"It's gonna be a long ride, huh? "

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After helping Felice clean up her new room, Noelle went to rest in her own room.

He fell asleep and seemed to have a dream for a while, but soon woke up when his communication device made a very loud noise.

There is only one meaning to this alarm; an emergency meeting.

Noelle got out of bed, quickly washed her face and put on all her uniforms.

The black trench coat he wore over the black shirt whose top buttons were biarched open.

Noelle hurriedly exited the door of her apartment, and while wearing a scarf, she also knocked on the door of Felice's apartment.

A few seconds later, Felice came out. He was also ready.

"What's going on? "

Felice anxiously asked, but Noelle just shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe, something happened to our investigation team."

His face became more and more anxious. In response to that, Noelle looked at Felice with a serious face. "Hurry up your door lock."

Felice looks confused, but she still does what Noelle says. After locking the door of her apartment, Felice turned around and looked at Noelle.

"Now what? "

"Shut your mouth and don't talk. I don't want you to accidentally bite and cut off your own tongue."

Right after Noelle said that, she waited until Felice did everything she said. After being convinced that Felice had already covered her mouth, Noelle unhesitatingly lifted Felice's body, and carried her with both hands.

That sudden action left Felice shocked. He didn't know what to react to. However, before he could think about it, he felt like blood had been drained from his head.

The sudden pressure difference made him dizzy, but somehow he managed to hold on.

As she looked around, she realized that Noelle had taken her jumping from one roof to another.

"It's going to be a lightning trip, so prepare yourself."

Without the slightest mistake, Noelle stepped on everything she could make a foothold. By doing this, he could arrive at his destination faster.

After a few big jumps, Noelle finally arrived at the bar where everyone would gather.

Noelle landed safely on the ground, and carefully helped Felice down from her sling.

" … Did you actually jump right off the roof of that building? "

Almost without Noelle noticing, Louen and Rita who arrived at the bar at the same time commented while looking back and forth between Noelle and the large building across.

"Ahh .. Louen, Rita .. Nice to see you. It's been a long time … "

"It's only been about two days that we haven't met, but it does feel like a long time. More ... With all these problems … "

Louen sighed and looked back.

From there, Dolf's figure was slowly seen.

He walked quietly and greeted everyone one by one. Finally, the door of the bar opened, and Tian greeted all of them.

"Come in. I have a very important discussion." After saying that, Tian immediately turned around and went inside the bar.

For a moment, Noelle did not respond. He was just staring at where Tian was standing before. However, then he turned his head and looked at Louen and Rita.

Even without needing to be spoken directly, it seemed that the two of them had already understood what Noelle wanted to ask.

To that question, they shook their heads.

(Even Louen and Rita who were on the same team as Tian had no idea. What the hell's going on? )

Noelle looked around, and realized that there was a shortage of people.

"Where are Dexter and Mona? "

It wasn't Noelle, it was Felice who asked that.

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Unlike before, the meeting this time was carried out simply in a place where ordinary customers gathered.

An oil lantern was lit in the middle of the counter table, and Tian who was standing behind the table was staring at everyone one by one.

He then turned to look at Dolf.

Nodding for a moment, Dolf finally stood up.

"Maybe you're confused as to why we had this sudden meeting. But, there's important information that should be passed on to you anyway."

That sentence left the likes of Felice, Louen, and Rita with a bad premonition. Noelle could still maintain her composure, and she had also made some guesses.

The best guess he made because of the absence of one member, namely Mona. There was only Dexter, and he was sitting in the corner with a frustrated face.

Dolf realized the contents of Noelle's mind, and he only nodded after glancing at her at a glance.

"You may have guessed it, but I'll still say it directly."

Taking a breath, Dolf seriously spoke to everyone.

"This afternoon, while the investigation is underway, one of our members, Mona, has been attacked."

Felice and Rita widened her eyes, while Noelle and Louen were somehow still able to show a flat expression.

"It follows its chronology based on what Dexter described."

"Tim Dexter and Mona conduct an investigation around the university, and find a basement containing many human remains. Their bodies were all in a state that was already heavily decomposed even though they might have only been dead for two or three days."

"This can happen because the enemy has harnessed the power of one of the contract users. I'm not going to explain this in detail, because you can read it in the report Dexter gave."

A piece of paper was each handed to Noelle, Felice, Louen, and Rita.

They seriously read the report, and were surprised after seeing the explanation.

"By the time Dexter came out to make a report, Mona had been attacked by an enemy we didn't know about. When she was found, Mona was unconscious."

"L-then–! "

Felice frantically interrupted, but Noelle raised her hand, which instantly made Felice speechless.

"How is he doing now? "

Mona's circumstances after the attack were not further described in the report.

Dolf nodded. "A good question. After Dexter and the team brought Mona to me, we immediately gave her some serious treatment. But, he remained unconscious. He's bleeding very badly in the head."

(Coma, yes .. )

Noelle understood how serious this matter was.

Too late for a bit, then Mona must have entered the reincarnation circle by now.

Hearing Mona's condition made Felice become increasingly limp. He was unable to resist shaking at his feet, so he ended up falling to the floor.

Noelle was beside him, but he did not try to help the girl. After all, this reality also made him somewhat surprised.

To a certain extent, Noelle had already predicted several events, and this also went into one of the events she had anticipated before.

It would not be surprising if one of the members of the investigation team was attacked until injured or killed, but the timing of the actions of the enemy made Noelle feel uncomfortable.

Mona is unlikely to be instantly removed only after finding one small clue. Which meant, he had found something even bigger.

What they found underground was a pile of corpses already in a terrible state, along with an investigative member who was a contract user.

The actual perpetrator harnesses the power of that person's contract, and accelerates the decomposition of all the corpses. At least, this is a fact that everyone knows.

But, what did Mona find, so she was attacked?

(No, I guess I should start from assuming 'Mona was attacked for messing up'.)

Assuming that Mona has found something will be a little hasty conclusion. That's why Noelle started from the ground up.

It could be, the culprit attacked Mona because only Mona was the least defense at that time.

If Noelle positioned herself as the perpetrator, then she would do the same, before finally starting to finish off all the other witnesses.

(There's a chance that he'll go after Dexter and the rest of his team, but why doesn't he start attacking when Dexter's outside? )

Based on Dexter's report, it's pretty clear that Dexter went out to make a report. This leaves Mona left on her own, and ends up being attacked.

From Noelle's point of view, the perpetrator should have seized the opportunity to attack Dexter as well.

There was also about the team members that were underground, they were not attacked because of their too many numbers. Noelle took that as a pretty good thought.

As Noelle was busy thinking, Dolf continued, "From what we've investigated, our victim Liu died using her own soul as fuel to activate the barrier."

The barrier created from the contractual ability of 'Literary Sovereign' had a thin bond with time.

The barrier made one unable to enter from the outside, and slowed the passively flow of time inside.

('Literary Master' .. Hey, do you have a more complete explanation of that? )

Noelle tried to ask Noir, but she did not expect Noir to answer.

However, contrary to what he had guessed, Noir replied.

『That barrier ability you just heard is derived from its honorary name, 'The King Who Loves to Read'. If you haven't found a connection between that name and the power of its timing, then I'll explain.』

( ... No. That's enough.)

It was very unusual for Noir to explain at length like this. Honestly, it's quite helpful.

Noelle had already understood the connection between the honor's name and the power of time she had just heard.

'The King Who Loves to Read', means that 'He' is very happy to take his time to read. When doing something you like, you tend to expect that time will go slower. This is so that a person can fully enjoy what they are doing without being distracted by the time that continues to run.

"Using his own soul as fuel .. He should have no desire to do that. Does that mean he was forced? "

Noelle tried to express her opinion, which Dolf responded with a brief nod.

"That's right. Most likely this person named Liu was forced to activate his ability using his own soul. The problem is, we still don't know the motive for accelerating the decomposition of the corpse, and we don't know yet what method he used to force Liu to use his power."

Noelle brought her hand to her chin for a moment, but immediately raised her head as if she had just realized something.

"What ... The person who forced Liu and attacked Mona was the same person? "

It was not Dolf who answered, but Tian.

"We still don't know that. Too little evidence. In addition, the perpetrators of the Mona attack were also very fast in launching the action. There's absolutely no trace left."

(No... There should be one or two traces left. )

Noelle shouldn't care too much about this. However, facing a case like this made him remember with someone.

This reminded him of Hail. Because of this, Noelle became a little unhappy, and subconsciously allowed herself to get further involved in the case.

"There's still no evidence? Haha ... As if I care about that! That fucking bastard is insulting me! "

Dexter, who had been silent since then suddenly raised his voice. Everyone naturally looked towards him, and what appeared was his figure standing up and showing an annoyed face accompanied by frustration.

"Mona got hurt because that bastard took a chance when I wasn't around! That bastard, I will go finish him myself! "

After saying that, Dexter walked out of his chair, clearly charging towards the exit.

However, before he reached the exit, a blood-red chain suddenly appeared and wrapped around his entire body. Dexter was tied up in chains, and left hanging from the ceiling.

"Suckers! What the fuck! "

Not only Dexter, but everyone there was also startled by it.

Then, one by one they realized. There was one chain that seemed to dangle, and it was directly connected to someone.

It was Noelle.

The blood chain came out from his palm which had a scratch wound that was already wide open.

" … I didn't know you had that ability."

The first to comment was Dolf. He swallowed his saliva for a moment, and calmly faced the situation.

"I'm grateful to you. Dexter won't be able to calm down for a while, so can you keep him there until the meeting is over? "

Noelle nodded with her expressionless face. "All right."

While hanging from the ceiling, Dexter continued to squirm. However, no matter what he did, the blood chain still held him firmly, and instead became stronger along with his resistance.

The softer part of the chain also covered his mouth, so he could not speak, or even shout.

"Can I ask you one thing? "

Noelle ignored everyone's reaction, and asked in seriousness.

This was completely different from Noah Ashrain whose style people remember. Compared to Noah who they knew as a friendly person, the one speaking here felt like another completely different figure.

"Where was Mona's attack? Has the TKP been cleaned? "

Dolf glanced at Tian, who was then countered by Tian with a brief head-drap.

"Yet. Just in case, we haven't cleared the scene yet, and just put up a police line so no one comes. The plan is, we'll just get rid of it in the morning. For its place, it's in the central part of the university's main building."

"Alright," Noelle said as she slowly stood up from her seat. Then, he continued, "Let me do my own investigation. I'll bring home some information. To make sure of something, I'll also visit Mona later."

Right after she said all that, Noelle had been in front of the exit that had been out since when it was opened.

Without waiting for anyone to reprimand her, Noelle went straight out the door. The chains that had previously bound Dexter on the ceiling also quickly melted into blood, and moved to flow following him.

"Am I .. Abandoned? "

That's the only sentence Felice managed to say.

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"Ughh .. You let him out, and I didn't? "

After recovering from the pain of being tied up with chains, Dexter began to complain to Dolf.

Of course, his complaint was coldly responded to.

"You'll only act rashly if I let you go. At least Noah was much more level-headed."

It was a fact that was hard to refute even by Dexter himself. Now that Dexter thought about it, what would he do after he went out? He himself doesn't know that.

At least, Noah already had his own goal, which was to investigate the scene to find at least one valuable piece of information.

"But .. Doesn't he look different? "

Rita is not a person who likes to comment on others, but she really can't help herself now.

"Noah looks upset. That's all I see." Louen seems to have a better understanding of Noah, and that makes Rita a little upset.

However, the one most puzzled by all of that was Felice.

The girl remained silent as she stared at the door Noah passed through earlier.

"Well, I think he's got his own mind. You can't know what kind of thinking he has behind his stone face."

'Stone face' is not the right word to describe it, Rita knows that. Noah always put a smile on his face, so he could not be said to be expressionless.

Perhaps, it would be more appropriate to call it a 'mask'. But of course, Rita was not so rude that she could casually mention the word.

"Alright, let Noah go investigate on his own. I hope he comes back with good information. He's contributed a lot to this investigation."

Dolf clapped his hand once and distracted everyone. After which, he placed his palms on the table, and stared at everyone one by one.

"Don't let Mona's accident ruin this investigation. We need to stay focused on finding the culprit. I will ask for reinforcements from the church, so be patient until all the reinforcements arrive."

All discussion should have been finished after Dolf had said that. No one wants to leave their place. Especially Dexter.

"Hey, Captain."

Dexter's hoarse, crude-sounding voice echoed in the dimly lit main room of the bar.

Without waiting for a response from Dolf, Dexter continued his sentence.

"Do you think the perpetrators who attacked Mona had any connection to the person we were after? "

That last subject marker sentence refers to Feran Cerces. In fact, not only Dexter, but Louen, Rita, and even Felice also had similar questions.

"The probability is quite high. Have you read the report from Noah? Feran Cerces has at least two or three men as his 'companies'. This can also be proven from the incident when the woman was still on the train."

The incident that happened on the train. Everyone in Nautica's bar already knows about it.

Noah was at the scene as a witness, so they had a fair amount of knowledge about the incident.

"It's all impossible to do by Feran Cerces alone. He was clearly together with two colleagues who were said to be riding the carriage with him. That means, other than Feran Cerces, there's one or two colleagues hiding in this town."

The information Noah gave them really helped. This practically makes the investigation faster, and each of them can also come up with their own conclusions.

Dolf and Tian had already decided to make that information the basis of their next investigation. If the results of their investigation are not appropriate, or cannot be connected to Noah's report, then there will be some revisions from both sides.

Seeing no one else speak, Dolf finally closed his eyes and took small steps towards the door.

"The meeting is over. For the whole night, you should rest because we will all be very busy the next day. Don't worry about Mona because she's now under the direct supervision of the church, and I'll also monitor her condition."

Dolf opened the door, then turned back as if he had forgotten something.

"Felice, the bar doesn't need to open tomorrow. Go with Noah to conduct a self-inquiry. Don't hesitate to ask for help from other organizations if you need it."

"Ahh .. Alright … "

The answer that came out sounded a bit dubious, but Dolf took that as confirmation, and ended up actually going off the bar.

Everyone left in the bar, was now preoccupied with their own thoughts.

" … I'll go." Dexter finally stood up from his place, and walked away from the bar. This time, no one stopped him.

At least, his mind was much clearer now. He won't act recklessly.

Tian, as the only representative left there could only sigh in resignation.

"Louen, Rita, rest for the night. I'm gonna need you guys tomorrow. Also, Felice, don't think too much about it. Noah certainly had something he had to think about and do. Just act normal."

" … Yes."

After receiving answers from everyone, Tian invited them all to leave the bar.

The oil lantern was turned off, and the bar door lock had also been handed over to the manager, Felice.

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